Buckle.



W. A. HOLDEN.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19, 1911.

1,056,991, Patented Mar.25,1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER A. HOLDEN, OF ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE ROBERT N..

BASSETT COMPANY, OF SI-IELTON, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- NEGTICUT.

BUCKLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, ammi A. HOLDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ansonia, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Buckles, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to buckles of the lock lever class designed to carry the end of a webbing and to operate along the running portion thereof to form an adjustable loop.

The object of my invention is to provide a buckle of this character having a back bent up out of a single piece of wire in a manner to form a single bar which is mounted to swing bodily when coacting with the lever edge. I attain these objects in the details of construction and manner of operation set forth in the following description and accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to.corresponding parts.

In the drawings: Figures 1 and 2 are rear and top views respectively of the buckle; Fig. 3, a top view of the same but showing the webbing in horizontal section, and Figs. 4 and 5 a vertical section and side view respectively of the buckle when in position on the webbing.

The buckle comprises the back A and the lever B. The back A is bent up out of a single piece of wire its middle portion being left straight to form the continuous bar 2. The wire is then bent downwardly and inwardly from the ends of the bar so that the two strands overlap each other in under the bar forming an opening or loop having a top bar 2, side bars 3, 3 and a bottom bar 4, 4. The strands are then crossed at the ends of the overlapping portions 4, 4 and carried upwardly around the sides 3, 3 of the loop forming outer side member 5, 5, the upper extremities 6, 6 of which are bent forwardly from the ends of the bar 2 and then inwardly forming pintles 7, 7, which latter are spaced from the bar 2. The overlapping portions 4, 4 of the wire are bound together by asleeve S.- The lever B is made out of sheet metal suitably blanked and struck up to form the front portion or shield e, the web clamping edge f, and the pintle straps g, g which latter are curled around the pintles 7, 7 to form a pivotal connection between the back A and the lever B.

One way of webbing the buckle is by cramping or threading the extremity h of the webbing C through the opening in under the bar 2 then folding the webbing around the bar 2 and sewing it upon itself by stitches 7a. The extremity of the webbing being thus secured to the buckle the running portion is carried downwardly then returned and passed upwardly in front of the bottom bar 4, 4 of the loop and through the opening between the bar 2 and lever B as shown in Fig. 4. To lock the running portion of the webbing the lever B is swung to its closed position as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 causing its clamping edge f to press the running portion against the front of the bar2, or to be more exact against the extrem ity h covering the bar 2. The bottom side of the back swings forwardly and cooperates with the front 6 to balance the buckle. Before the buckle is webbed the bar 2 lies close to the edge f of the lever, as shown in Fig. 2, but when strung with webbing, the bar 2 is pressed rearwardly by the lever edge acting through the medium of the interposed layers of webbing, as shown in Fig. 3. This rearward movement of the bar 2 causes the sides 3, 3 to yield since the increasing of the distance between the bar 2 and the pintles 7, 7, effected by the wedging action of the lever, causes the sides 3, 3 of the loop, which carry the bar 2, to bend rearwardly and the outer sides 5, 5, which carry the sides 6, 6 and the pintles 7, 7, to bend forwardly, thereby spreading each pair of sides at the ends of the bar 2. In this manner the sides 3, 3 constitute yielding or spring sup ports for the bar 2 which resist the rearward movement of the latter, thereby causing the bar 2 to coact with the lever edge f to engage the interposed layers of webbing and hold the buckle closed. The mounting of the bar in this manner on spring supports enables me to effect a positive engagement between a lever member and a single bar regardless of the thickness of the interposed layers of webbing.

It should be observed that the back is coiled in such a manner as to leave all of the bends open thereby enabling a high speed machine and a variety of grades of wire to beutilized; It should be further observed that the crossing of the wire leaves no opening in the bottom side of the buckle for the webbing to slip through during the process of stringing.

Having now described one embodiment of my invention various modifications comprebending such broad features as may fairly come within the scope of the appended claims will readily suggest themselves.

hat I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A buckle comprising a back bent up out of a single piece of wire to form side members having their lower extremities bent inwardly, crossed and extended to the other side of the back to form a balancing member, the said wire being again bent inwardly above said balancing member to form a bar for carrying the extremity of a webbing, and a lever carried between the extremities of said side members and arranged to cooperate with said bar when the buckle is closed.

2. A buckle having a back bent up out of a single piece of wire so that its middle portion forms a continuous bar, the said wire being carried downwardly and inwardly from the ends of said bar to form an opening in under the bar, then crossed and extended to the other end of the bar, then bent forwardly to form sides, then inwardly to form pintles, and a web holding lever hinged to said pintles, the said lever being arranged to coact with said bar to hold the buckle closed.

3. A buckle for running webbing comprising a back made out of a single piece of wire bent to form an opening or loop having its top portion continuous and substantially straight to act as a supporting bar for the folded extremity of a webbing and its sides bent inwardly at their lower extremit-ies and crossed to form a balancing member in under the bar, the extremities of said wire being carried upwardly around said loop, then bent forwardly and then in wardly to form pintles, and a web locking lever journaled on said pintles, the said lever being arranged to coact with said bar when the buckle is closed.

4:. In a buckle a back bent up out of a single piece of wire so that its middle portion forms a continuous bar extending across the back, the said wire being carried downwardly and inwardly from the ends of said bar to form an opening in under the bar, then crossed and continued upwardly to the respective ends of the bar, then forwardly to form sides and then inwardly to form pintles, combined with a webbing having its extremity folded over the top of the bar, then carried downwardly in back of the buckle and returned upon itself and passed upwardly between the sides through the opening formed between the pintles and the bar, and a lever journaled on said pintles, the said lever being provided wit-h a member arranged to engage the running portion and coact with said bar when the buckle is closed.

5. A buckle comprising a back having a web attaching bar mounted on wires which are crossed in under the bar to form spring supports, the said back being bent up out of a single piece of wire so that all the bends therein are open, and a lever pivoted to said back, the said lever being arranged to cooperate with said bar to lock the buckle closed.

lVALTER A. HOLDEN.

lVitnesses MARGARET E. BAXTER, EARL S. EDGERTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. i 

